Auckland taxpayers will own a new and improved fleet of ferries in a $100 million overhaul of services that also includes cheaper fares for many Waiheke Island commuters.
Auckland Transport will own seven ferries for the first time and spend $80 million on five electric hybrids.
They will be operated under a 12-year contract with existing operator Fullers360, on four routes.
The city council will also spend $15 million to purchase and upgrade four of Fullers360’s older boats, with more efficient diesel engines. in a long transition to a carbon-free fleet of 27 ships.
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The bundle of changes includes expanding the benefits of the AT Hop Monthly Travel Pass to Waiheke Islandcurrently run by Fullers360 outside of the public transit network.
The deal, the first big commotion of how Auckland’s ferry network runs, follows years of work from Auckland Transport.
“The Ferry Fleet [is] to become increasingly owned by Aucklanders for Aucklanders as a result of the negotiations, 12 years earlier than previously expected,” said Mark Lambert, interim chief executive of Auckland Transport.
While the government recently announced: $27 million in funding for two advanced electric ferries to be built in Auckland, the remaining five boats covered by the agreement will be hybrids built in Whanganui.
Fullers360 had helped fund the development, by EV Maritime, of the two all-electric boats.
Fullers group/delivered
Auckland’s new electric hybrid ferries are similar to those unveiled by Fullers360 in December 2021.
Chief executive Mike Horne said these two boats, “once tested and proven”, would be suitable for use in the inner harbour.
Horne said the hybrid boats were powered electrically, but with a diesel generator to top up when needed where dockside charging was not possible.
The new deal covers Fullers360’s existing routes to Hobsonville Point/Beach Haven, Devonport, Half Moon Bay and Gulf Harbour. The rest, except Waiheke Island, will open for tender in 2023.
The extension of AT Hop’s monthly pass to Waiheke Island is only a partial solution to Auckland Transport’s and the government’s steps to bring the busy island back into the public transport network.
RYAN ANDERSON/Things
Fullers360 CEO Mike Horne.
Fullers360 was authorized to exempt the Waiheke and Devonport routes from network control by a previous national government, meaning travelers did not benefit from fare agreements and quality controls.
The Devonport exemption has ended under the new deal between AT and Fullers, something North Shore councilors Chris Darby and Richard Hills requested in 2019.
Darby said there had been a “relentless pursuit” from AT, Fullers360 and two transport ministers over the waiver issue, and welcomed the new status for Devonport. He also noted that the move of the Waiheke monthly pass will not fully meet the islanders’ expectations, and was “intermediate”.
The new Waiheke deal will save regular adult travelers $58 for a monthly pass and cost Auckland Transport more than $550,000 a year in subsidies, but the child and tertiary fares set by Fullers360 will not change.
Transport Minister Michael Wood has said yes frustrated with slow progress between AT and Fullers360 over the longer term and a process has started to change the legislation.
The future of Auckland’s remaining ferry routes to Birkenhead, Northcote, Bayswater, West Harbor and Pine Harbor will be decided in next year’s tender, but is also expected to be modeled on government-owned vessels run by private operators.